CPAPtalk.com

gasp wrote:Be aware that most of the time studies are funded by pharmaceuticals. Of course there are some studies that aren't, but most are. This means they want to try administer a medication and watch for the outcome. If a pharmaceutical study, then they are very selective on who they let join the study to achieve the desired outcome.

In my humble opinion, I don't think studies are the place to get help.

Gasp, I agree. These folks don't have the patients' interests at heart. Once again, it's all about money and not really about pure research - finding the next silver bullet that people will pay for. Pharmaceutical companies are interested in one thing: keeping as many people hooked on their products as long as possible. If you're a casualty of that, you've signed a non-disclosure agreement and probably don't have much in the way of recourse if something goes awry. It's probably best to steer clear of it.

myapapismadhot wrote:While its nice that people are replying to you, please remember they're not health professionals. They're non-physicians with sleep apnea. People often have just enough information to make themselves dangerous. OSA may contribute to depression. That doesn't mean that your depression has anything to do with your sleep apnea. It may, but it may not.

Go see a doctor. Let them sort it out.

Oh I think I've seen enough doctors, thank you. They take my money, play the referral game and tell me they can't help me. I'd rather not get started on this subject because I am bottom-of-the-barrel cynical on this one.

Guest wrote:While its nice that people are replying to you, please remember they're not health professionals. They're non-physicians with sleep apnea. People often have just enough information to make themselves dangerous. OSA may contribute to depression. That doesn't mean that your depression has anything to do with your sleep apnea. It may, but it may not.

Go see a doctor. Let them sort it out.

I agree it's nice people reply and give each other opinions - and it is important to keep in mind that those replying are not giving professional advice.

One of the ways we know it isn't professional advice is because nobody is paying anybody here. Posts are free advice. Professionals usually require payment for services to create a contract between themselves and the client. This payment also helps pay for liability/malpractice insurance in case what they say causes them to be sued.

While this is understandable, it's sad that we don't get free advice from professionals. It would be a rare thing indeed if members of this forum were to hear actual professional advice.

- just my two cents -

DreamDiver wrote:

EDBRAD wrote:Rooster
There are some pretty scary little articles on that site. I have probably had 25 to 30 years of apnea, only the last 8 yrs have I been on cpap, (at the wrong pressure though). It was only after finding this site this spring, getting a new machine and taking charge of my own therapy that I have finally started to feel some dramatic improvements. More and more its looking like all problems Ive had were sleep related - depression, diabetes, severe memory loss, weight gain. Too bad this info was not available 30 years ago.

Ed

Rooster's posts on this subject have begun to make me suspect the same. Taking control of therapy is the most important thing.

I bought a PapCap from Pur-Sleep, jacked my pressure up to 11, and went to sleep at 8pm because I only got about 4 hours the night before. These are the results:

I have never had an AHI below 1 for an entire night before. Twice before I've had 0 for the first half of the night. The second half is usually more restless. I don't think I've gotten this much sleep in a very long time.

The gap in the middle is me wishing my wife 'Happy Birthday' at the stroke of midnight. We got up, threw caution to the wind and had champaign and a piece of cake. I bought her an Audrey Hepburn hat, like the one in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', and we're going out for breakfast. (More like 'Breakfast at a Redneck Joint'. )

Well I was searching sheik per ROOSTER in another post looking for the vaseline thread and ran across this gem and couldn't resist .... You go dreamdiver Looks like 10 minutes for champaign then the mask for 10 then another 20 minutes for a piece of "cake"....

Browser wrote:

DreamDiver wrote:

EDBRAD wrote:Rooster
There are some pretty scary little articles on that site. I have probably had 25 to 30 years of apnea, only the last 8 yrs have I been on cpap, (at the wrong pressure though). It was only after finding this site this spring, getting a new machine and taking charge of my own therapy that I have finally started to feel some dramatic improvements. More and more its looking like all problems Ive had were sleep related - depression, diabetes, severe memory loss, weight gain. Too bad this info was not available 30 years ago.

Ed

Rooster's posts on this subject have begun to make me suspect the same. Taking control of therapy is the most important thing.

I bought a PapCap from Pur-Sleep, jacked my pressure up to 11, and went to sleep at 8pm because I only got about 4 hours the night before. These are the results:

I have never had an AHI below 1 for an entire night before. Twice before I've had 0 for the first half of the night. The second half is usually more restless. I don't think I've gotten this much sleep in a very long time.

The gap in the middle is me wishing my wife 'Happy Birthday' at the stroke of midnight. We got up, threw caution to the wind and had champaign and a piece of cake. I bought her an Audrey Hepburn hat, like the one in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', and we're going out for breakfast. (More like 'Breakfast at a Redneck Joint'. )

Well I was searching sheik per ROOSTER in another post looking for the vaseline thread and ran across this gem and couldn't resist .... You go dreamdiver Looks like 10 minutes for champaign then the mask for 10 then another 20 minutes for a piece of "cake"....

I see you have moved over to the fowl side.

Hey Rooster, don't make me open a can of

Ive been off and on Lexapro and others for really bad anxiety and moderate depression for 15 years. My doctor told me that my sleep apnea, which I could have had since I was born, probably is a factor to all this! God I hope so, if you think about it, how many people do you know who basically sleep 2 hours a night wake up feeling chipper and excited? My OSA diagnosis might finally shed some light on why ive had the anxiety and formally bad depression......I feel your pain

Mike

Previous to my learning about OSA, I had looked into depression, and was able to get diagnosed for clinical depression, got a prescription for an anti-depressive, still felt many of the "symptoms" of depression and finally was advised to change medication or try being off of it. I opted to be off of it. Then several years later I learned of OSA and as I learned more about OSA, I started asking which symptoms come first, Depression or OSA? I now know that I was wrongly diagnosed with "depression" by both my GP and a Phscyologist but little was known of OSA then by anyone. Even today, I'd bet that neither a Psychiatrist, Psychologist or medical doctors could confirm which is which in a person without a sleep study to rule out OSA. Even then, as I've had two sleep studies, both flawed, and one even had my "sleep" there and the resulting PSG "inconclusive" for various reasons, I was still diagnosed with OSA to various degrees. Also, one ENT said my throat equipment was fine, one said it was symptomatic of OSA (he also gave me THE most thorough exam and explanations of my physique than anyone, so I believe his opinion, and he suggested CPAP first before any surgery).

Then it took several more years before only recently getting a few truly restful night's sleep on PAP therapy to know FOR SURE, that for myself, OSA is the culprit, not depression. after many years of always wondering if depression was part of my fatigue, and other symptoms and life spiralling down. After a few nights of incredible relief from OSA symptoms on PAP therapy, I finally have hope, vs. feeling ...... depressed. The differences are startling and my restful sleeps were not as good as I hope they'll become, but they were THE most helpful of anything that I've tried. Only the helpful relief of daily Transcendal Meditation has gotten me through 25+ years of unknown fatigue etc. (I don't know how or why 20 mins of TM helps, once or twice a day, but it does.)

It seems to me that the symptoms of depression can be so varied and like other illnesses, both mental and physical, that a clear diagnosis is so very difficult. My talking to doctors and sleep specialist MD's is that they are only NOW figuring out that OSA may be causing more accurate diagnosis of depression, than true depression does. While we're not all the same by any means, my experiences show that for "general" depression like symptoms, OSA should definitely be explored amongst other possibilities. The medical system it seems is also quite eager and too profitable to prescribe a pill, for something as difficult to diagnose as "depression". Wheras for OSA, and unlike many medications for depression, there are next to zero side affects or dangers of getting a sleep study for the determination of OSA as causing one's depression like symptoms.

So where clear mental illness or a crisis is not the reason, which should be looked at first for the reasons to one's fatigue etc., OSA or Depression? I'd suggest OSA.